Tusks and Daggers Part Three: A Black Heart

A brick building loomed in front of us, the red sky thundering.  It looked like the high schools I had seen at home, but in much better condition.  Creatures of all types streamed into the building, the bland gray blazer and gray skirt disappointing me.  My heart skipped a beat, Boran standing next to me in his black uniform.  Adjusting our ties, we joined the stream of students.  A blonde woman stopped up in our tracks, her pinched face only causing her more wrinkles.  

“You too are the new students, Jon Smith, and Lily Waterson, correct?” She questioned, my mind wondering if her bun could get any tighter. “Here are your schedules, now get to class!”  Calm yourself, I thought to myself.  Her gray wool dress swayed as she walked away, Boran shooting me a goofy look.  The woman snapped her head back, her death glare causing my lips to twitch.  Reading the first number on the list, we sprinted to the room.  Taking a deep breath, a set of  green haired twins were arguing with each other.  

“Father said that he was going to give the company to me!” One of them screamed to each other, the other one ready to bop the other one in the other ones faces. “He said so himself!”  A lump formed in my throat, everyone turning to me, including the twins.  One had an intense evil aura over her while the other one had an angelic energy.  Green eyes glared at me, one face twisting into a malicious grin.  Sitting down in a chair, Boran sat next to me.  Glancing over at me, half of the students were arguing with each other.  Something was off here, and it sure was fishy.  Concern flashed in my eyes, dark energy beginning to curl off of Boran.  We needed to work fast if I wanted him to still like me.  

“I need to go to the bathroom!” I announced raising my hand, running out of the room before the teacher could protest. “Sorry.”  Instead of going to the bathroom, I leapt into the administrative office.  The door to the school counselor was shut, loud voices booming from the other side.   

“I can’t stand your stupid face!” The sharp tone of the blonde woman retorted icily. “You always say, let's talk about it.  I don’t even know why we started arguing.”  The door fell open, my face hitting the cheap blue carpet.   

“What do we have here?” The two women queried together creepily, a chill running up my spine. “She is from a completely different world.  How interesting?”  They reached for me, my legs shaking as I jumped to my feet.  Blue lockers flashed by me, my boots pounding down the hall.  The two women chased after me, the twin with angelic energy pulling me into the janitor’s closet.  

“There has been a curse placed on this school.” She explained quietly, looking out the door. “My sister and I have been arguing for so long, we don’t even know why.”  Well, that certainly seems like a theme here.  Peeking out of the window, Boran was wandering the hall with black eyes.  Other students followed after him, intense heartache shattering my heart.  

“We need to find the talisman that began this all, and this all will stop.  Do you know where it would be?” I questioned calmly, a thoughtful look softening her face. “Will you fight alongside me?”  Shaking my hand, we peeked our heads up.  Boran’s fist smashed into the glass, blue marks lined my arm as my blue scythe appeared in my eager palms.  Tears welled up in my eyes, the end of the handle slamming into his head.  Dropping back, it provided me just enough time to kick the door open.  She dragged me down the hall to the library, Boran burst in with a crew of angry students.  

“It is in one of these books!” She shouted over the angry cries as she sat behind the desk.  “Hold them off while I discover the title.”  Nodding, I had no choice.  Boran slammed his body into mine, a fist slamming into my jaw.  Kicking him off, tears of pain streamed down my face.

“Stop it!” I screamed, my voice cracking. “Boran, you love me remember!”  My words fell on deaf ears, his fist slamming into my stomach.  Falling to my knees, my hands pressed against the ground.   

“I hate you!” He growled through gritted teeth, charging at me with a spiked club. “I want to break up.”  Rage boiled in my veins, my composure about to break.  Shaking my head, my lips parted to speak.   

“Hurry up and find it.” I barked impatiently, a spell coming to mind.  “Thorns of the blue rose, stems rise and capture them all.”  Blue roses crashed through the blue carpet, the stems holding everyone but Boran down.  Jumping to my feet, it was just him and me.  Hopping on the peeling tables, the green haired girl rushed out holding a piece of paper.  Instead of going after me, he grabbed her by the wrists.  My heart sank, her wrist was bruising.  Surprise widened my eyes, her touch turned him back to normal.  Falling to his knees, his eyes fell on my woods.  Our new friend scurried away from him, my rose vines beginning to snap.  Sprinting deeper into the massive library, we chased after her.  My chest burned, begging for more air.  Shouting broke out below us, the people arguing among themselves.  

“Looking for this.” The other twin teased cruelly, spinning around a black heart. “I am afraid that you can’t have this.”  Charging at her, Boran knocked her to the ground.  The black heart tumbled out of her hands to my feet, my scythe raised to destroy.  

“I don’t think so.” A familiar voice warned icily, sending chills up my spine. “How dare you even think about it?” Ignoring her, the tip smashed the talisman into pieces.  Everyone fell to the blue carpet except for the woman who gave us our schedules.  

“I am a spirit who lives off of arguing and agony.” She teased, her claw tracing my cheeks. “You seem to have a lot of it.  Who did you lose?  It seems like a lot of people, or is it your mother?”  Her form changed to my mother, right before she died.  Her hair was tied into a braid, her pirate uniform all bloody.  Tears streamed down my cheek, my fingers wrapping around the locket around my neck.  The image of my mother melted away, a skeletal  woman with stringy gray hair that looked wet glared into my trembling eyes. Her hand reached out to touch me, the twin that helped me, shot a ball of white light at her.   Unnatural howls exploded from the creature’s lips, white light consumed her.  An explosion of light blinded me, only a pile of black ash remaining.  

“I am Mary, and she is Kara.” She introduced herself, bowing in my direction. “We have been stationed at this school to cleanse her, and now we have to move on to the next place.  We have been placed in charge of making this world light again.  Why are you here, and why is a dragon’s eye staring through the window?  How cute are y-”   Sir Acorn groaned on my shoulder, rubbing his eyes.  

“I am not cute!” He protested irritably, taking the acorn I was offering him. “I am a tough little guy.”  Rolling my eyes, her sister Kara woke up.  Rubbing her head, she glanced around groggily.  Her hair was twisted into a side braid, while Mary’s hair cascaded down her back.  Struggling to stand, she stiffened at the sight of me. 

“Who are you?” She barked furiously, ripping a white crystal blade from her right boot.  Mary held her arm, whispering something in her ear.  Lowering her weapon, she broke down crying.  Burying her head in her palms, Mary held her in her arms.  

“Do you mind if we join you?” She begged politely, pressing her hands together. “We can heal you, and cleanse the land as you go.  So, what do you think?”  Boran nodded in my direction, a silent agreement reached.   

“We would love to have you!” I announced cheerfully, everyone beginning to wake up. “We should probably erase all of their memories or something to that degree.”  Snapping my fingers, everyone fell back asleep.  

“We should head before they wake up.” Boran said nervously, not trusting them quite yet. “Let’s go.”  After changing into our usual clothes, the twins ran out in black and white robes.  Hopping onto the dragon, Sir Acorn tucked himself into my front pocket.  

“For someone who hates being cute, you sure keep doing things adorably.” I teased lightly, ignoring his death glare. “Anyway, where to next?”  Clearing his throat, the twins looked like they were having fun.  Wide grins danced across their faces, their robes fluttering in the wind.  

“I am so sorry.” Boran whined in my ear, guilt darkening his eyes. “I didn’t mean to h-”  Pressing my lips to his passionately, the words faded from his lips.  Shaking my head, a lump formed in my throat. 

“Don’t worry about it, ‘kay!” I chirped cheerfully, knowing that he was affected. “I know that it wasn’t you.  Now let’s clean you up.”  Sir  Acorn rolled his eyes as I began to treat his wounds.  How could something so cute be so grumpy?